Video Capsule Endoscopy

With this new technology the patient swallows a video capsule that is about the size of a vitamin capsule. Within this capsule is a camera that takes pictures as it travels through the stomach and small intestine. It takes about two pictures per second as it makes its way through the GI tract. This capsule enables your gastroenterologist to see areas of the small intestine that would otherwise not be visualized by other techniques.

Further Details About the Video Capsule Endoscopy Examination

The procedure is painless. The patient must fast for eight hours prior to the test. On the morning of the exam, the patient comes into our office. Video sensors are attached to the patient’s abdomen and the sensors are connected to a data recorder (the recorder is carried by the patient in a small sack attached to the waist). Once the patient swallows the video capsule he or she is free to carry out their normal activities for the next eight hours while the data is recorded. Pictures are taken (two images per second) by the capsule during this time period. The patient returns to our office after eight hours for removal and collection of the sensors and video recorder. At that point, our technician downloads the recordings to a disk. Your physician then reads the disk and interprets its findings.

Video capsule endoscopy is a valuable tool that is used to diagnose a variety of gastrointestinal disorders of the esophagus, stomach, and small intestine. It is often used to find a source of blood loss or anemia in patients in whom a colonoscopy and EGD have been non-diagnostic. Possible findings of video capsule endoscopy include small bowel ulcers, vascular malformations, inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, and small bowel cancers.